Printing press



June 13, 1944;

A. J. CARPENTER, JR

PRINTING PRESS Filed Oct. 51, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 13, 1944.

A. J CARPENTER, JR 2,351,013

PRINTING PRESS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 31, 1942 Patented June 13, 1944 PRINTING PRESS Albert J. Carpenter, Jr., Battle Creek, Mich., as-

signor to The Duplex Printing Press Company, Battle Creek, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application October 31, 1942, Serial No. 464,073

12 Claims.

This invention relates to printing presses, the same being a novel improvement in automatic uni-directional fountain drives for printing presses such as color printing presses in which the direction of rotation of the printing couples are subject to change, so that some may be rotated in one direction while others are rotated in the opposite direction, or all the printing couples may be rotated in the same direction.

Heretofore, whenever it has been found expedicut to change the direction of rotation of a printing couple, it has been necessary to also change the direction of rotation of the related fountain roller which is driven thereby, usually by manually slipping certain gears into and out of mesh and alternating them with other gear trains to give the requisite rotative movement thereto. Such procedure necessarily entails manipulation of parts such as gear guards, and the like, and consequent delays and annoyance to the press operators.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a novel mechanism which eliminates the necessity of manual operations to change the direction of rotation of the fountain rollers, my mechanism automatically driving the ink fountain rollers always in the same constant direction regardless of the direction of rotation of the related printing couples or the direction of rotation of the motive power, which direction is usually governed by the rotational movement of the associated printing couple.

The present invention is an improvement upon the ink fountain drive disclosed in my copending application Patent Number 2,351,012, June 13, 1944.

I will explain the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one practical embodiment thereof, to enable others familiar with the art to adopt and use the same; and will summarize in the claims, the novel features of construction, and novel combinations of parts, for which protection is desired.

In said drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a portion of a printing press showing a pair of printing couples mounted in the frame, and showing the related ink fountain rollers driven by means of my novel drive incorporated in the press.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section, partly in elevation, on the line 2-2, Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section on the line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section on the line 4-4, Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 a color printing press is diagrammatically illustrated, same having a pair of printing couples, each consisting of an impression cylinder A, and an associated plate cylinder B,each plate cylinder B being supplied with inkfrom inking rolls C which receive ink from, an ink drum D. Drum D receives ink from inking rolls E cooperating with a smaller ink drum F supplied with ink by a ductor roll G cooperating with a fountain roll H dipping into fountain J. A vertical drive shaft K is journaled in bearings in the press frame L and carries a gear M at its lower end adapted to be meshed with either of two drive gears N or N splined upon a main drive shaft P whereby the shaft K may be rotated in either direction. Shaft K carries at its upper end a mitre gear Q meshing with a corresponding gearing for separately driving the impression cylinders AA, whereby the latter may be driven from shaft P in either direction to conform with the direction of the web feed, so that the printing couples may print on both sides of the paper web, or may print two colors on one side only of the web in the usual manner.

Changing rotatory movement of the printing couples is a function of color printing, and for the benefit of higher grade color work it is often found advisable to rotate both printing couples in the same direction. Thus in color printing the printing couples may be arranged to rotate in either the clockwise or anti-clockwise direction; but independent of whichever direction the printing couples rotate it is compulsory to retain the same direction of rotation of the related fountain rolls H at all times, due to the fact that said rolls are operated in contiguity to their respective ink scraping blades H which are carried by the ink fountains J.

According to my present invention, a novel ink fountain drive is incorporated in the printing press for each fountain roll H, which drive eliminates the necessity of said manual changes such as slipping certain gears out of mesh and alternating same with other gear trains, my novel drive automatically driving the ink fountain roll H in the same constant direction regardless of the direction of rotation of the related printing couple A-B which usually governs the drive of said fountain roll, my drive thus allowing the press shaft K to be run in either direction while the fountain rolls H will always be driven in the same constant direction.

In the printing press the shafts of the small ink drums F are driven through suitable gear trains (not shown) from their related impression rolls A so that they rotate in a fixed relation therewith. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the shaft I of each small ink drum F extends outside of the frame L of the printing press and carries thereon a gear 2 meshing with an intermediate gear 3 journaled on a stud 4 and forming a part of the gear train extending between the impression cylinder A andthe ink drum F. The ink drum shaft I carries on its outer end a mitre or bevel gear 5 fixedly secured thereto.

Opposite the gear 5 is an angularly disposed fountain drive shaft 6 journaled in an upper bearing bracket I mounted on the side of the press frame L, a collar 8 on the upper end of shaft 6 preventing axial movement of the shaft in said bearing. The lower end of shaft 6 is journaled in a worm gear housing 9 (Fig. 2) likewise secured to the side-of the press frame L Fixedly mounted on the lower end of shaft 8 within the housing 9 is a worm III which meshes with a worm wheel II fixedly mounted on the shaft I2 of the fountain roll H, which shaft extends beyond the side of the press frame L, and into the housing 9, as shown in Fig. 2 whereby the fountain roll H will be driven by shaft 6.

On the fountain drive shaft 6 between the brackets I and 9 are a pair of spaced opposed mitre or bevel gears I3 and I4 floating upon bushings I5 and I6 freely. rotatable upon shaft 6, said gears I3 and I4 each meshing with the mitre or bevel gear 5 carried by shaft I of ink drum F as shown in Fig. 2, whereby the gears I3 and I 4 are constantly driven in opposite directions.

'Upon fountain drive shaft 6, disposed between the mitre or bevel gears I3 and I4, is a clutch member 20, keyed thereto as at 20a, said memberhaving an annular flange 20x projecting from one side, and a similar annular flange 2611 projecting from the opposite side. Projecting from the adjacent face of mitre or bevel gear I3 is an annular clutch driving ring 24 entering within the annular flange 20a: of clutch member 20, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, said ring 24 having in its outer face a series of tapering recesses 24a (Fig. 3) all tapering in the same direction, said recesses 24:: housing rollers 26 adapted to wedge against the flange 26:1: when disposed in the shallow ends of the recesses 2411 so as to bind the clutch ring 24 to clutch member 20 when the gear I3 is rotated by gear 5 in one direction, and to permit the gear l3 to become disengaged from clutch member 20 and to freely rotate upon shaft 6 when the gear I3 is rotated in the opposite direction, 1. e., in the direction of the arrow X in Fig. 3, the rollers 26 being then merely pushed around their orbit by contact with the deeper ends of the recesses 24a. Preferably clutch ring 24 is secured to gear I3 by tap screws 25 or the like as shown in Fig. 3.

Projecting from the adjacent face of the opposed mitre or bevel gear I4 is a similar clutch driving ring 30 (Figs. 2 and 4) entering within the annular flange 2011 of clutch member 20,

rollers 26.

secured to the gear I4 by means of tap screws 32 or the like, as shown in Fig. 4.

By this arrangement, the shaft I of the ink drum F, when rotated in one direction, will cause the clutch driving ring 24 on the gear I3 to rotate in one direction and the clutch driving ring 30 on the gear I4 to rotate in the opposite direction. Since the tapered slots 24a and 30a in the clutch driving rings 24 and 30 are all inclined in the same direction as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, it is obvious that when the ink drum shaft is rotated in one direction the gear I3 and the related clutch driving ring 24 will be rotated to cause the related rollers 23 to bind in the shallow ends of the inclined recesses 24a and lock the ring 24 and gear l3 to the clutch member 20 and drive fountain drive shaft 6 in the direction of the arrow Y, Fig. 3. At the same time the gear I4 on the fountain drive shaft 6 will be driven by gear 6 in the opposite direction and since it carries the clutch driving ring 36 the rollers 3I will be merely carried around by contact with the deeper ends of the recesses 30a permitting the gear I4 to rotate freely on shaft 6 in the opposite direction of rotation from gear I3. When the ink drum shaft I is rotated in the reverse direction the gear l3 and clutch driving ring 24 will freely rotate upon the fountain drive shaft 6 in the opposite direction of rota tion from the gear I4 and clutch driving ring 30, which ring 30 will then be rotating in a direction to cause the related rollers 3| to bind against the flange 2011 by movement towards the she]- lower ends of the recesses 30a, thus continuing to. drive the fountain drive shaft 6 in the same direction indicated by the arrow Y, Fig. 4, as when driven by the clutch driving ring 24 and Thus the clutch driving discs 24 and 30 are free to rotate around the fountain drive shaft 6 except when driven in such direction as to cause their related rollers 26 and 3| to wedge or bind against the angular flanges 20a: and 201 Whichever set of rollers 26 or 3i is being moved by the rotational forces into frictional contact with the clutch member 20 drives the clutch member 20, and if the ink drum shaft I is driven in reverse direction then the directional rotation of the gears I3 and I4 is reversed and one set of rollers moves into the deeper ends of their inclined recesses while the other set of rollers drives the clutch member 20 in the same direction it was driven before by the first set of rollers.

Obviously, the mitre or bevel gear drive for the shaft 6 might be replaced by other types of gears or gear trains without changing the purpose or action of the mechanism, so long as the two freely rotating parts 24 and 30 on the fountain shaft I4 are caused to rotate simultaneously in opposite directions. By proper selection of gears, equal speed reductions or speed increases, or different speeds, of the fountain drive shaft 6 can be obtained.

My invention thus eliminates the necessity of any manual changes or manipulation of parts of the fountain drive when making press reversed, and therefore simplifies and improves the operation of the press. I do not limit my invention to the exact form shown in the drawings, for obviously changes may be made therein within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a printing press, an ink drum, a gear on the ink drum, an ink fountain roll, a fountain drive shaft and connecting members driving the fountain roll; a pair of gears journaled on the said shaft meshing with the first mentioned gear and driven thereby in opposite directions and clutch means mounted on the shaft between and cooperating with said pair of gears and acting in the same direction for causing rotation of the fountain drive shaft in a constant direction by whichever gear of the pair is rotating in said direction.

2. In a press as set forth in claim 1, said clutch means comprising clutch rings carried by the gears of the pair, said rings having tapered recesses all inclined in the same direction; and rollers in said recesses adapted to lock the related ring to the shaft when the related gear of the pair is rotating in a direction to cause binding of the rollers in their recesses.

3. In a press as set forth in claim 1, said clutch means comprising a clutch member fixedly mounted on the driven shaft and having annular flanges projecting from opposite sides thereof; clutch rings carried by the gears of the pair and entering the respective annular flanges, said rings having tapered peripheral recesses all inclined in the same direction; and rollers in said recesses adapted to lock the related ring to the clutch member when the related gear of the pair is rotating in a direction to cause binding of the roll ers in their recesses.

4. In a printing press, a printing couple; an

I ink drum driven by said couple; a gear on the ink drum; an ink fountain roll: a fountain drive shaft and connecting members driving the fountain roll; a pair of gears journaled on the said shaft and meshing with said first mentioned gear and driven thereby in opposite directions; and clutch means mounted on said shaft between and cooperating with said pair of gears and acting in the same direction for causing rotation of the fountain drive shaft in a constant direction by whichever gear of the pair is rotating in said direction.

5. In a press as set forth in claim l, said clutch means comprising clutch rings carried by the gears of the pair, said rings having tapered recesses all inclined in the same direction: and rollers in said recesses adapted to lock the related ring to the shaft when the related gear of the pair is rotating in a direction to cause binding of the rollers in their recesses.

6. In a press as set forth in claim 4, said clutch means comprising a clutch member fixedly mounted on the driven shaft and having annular flanges projecting from opposite sides thereof: clutch rings carried by the gears of the pair and entering the respective annular flanges, said rings having tapered peripheral recesses all inclined in the same direction; and rollers in said recesses adapted to lock the related ring to the clutch member when the related gear of the pair is rotating in a direction to cause binding of the rollers in their recesses.

7. In a printing press, a printing couple; an ink drum driven thereby: a bevel gear on the ink drum; an ink fountain roll: a shaft disposed opposite the bevel gear having connecting members driving the fountain roll; a pair of bevel gears journaled on the said shaft and meshing with theflrst mentioned bevel gear and rotated thereby in opposite directions; and clutch means mounted on said shaft between and cooperating with said respective bevel gears of the pair and acting in the same direction for causing rotation of the said shaft in a constant direction by whichever bevel gear of the pair is rotating in said direction.

8. In a press as set forth in claim 7, said clutch means comprising clutch rings carried by the bevel gears of the pair, said rings having tapered recesses all inclined in the same direction; and rollers in said recesses adapted to lock the related ring to the fountain drive shaft when the related bevel gear of the pair is rotating in a direction to cause binding of the rollers in their recesses.

9. In a press as set forth in claim 7, said clutch means comprising a clutch member fixedly mounted on the driven shaft and having annular flanges projecting from opposite sides thereof; clutch rings carried by the bevel gears of the pair and entering the respective annular flanges, said rings having tapered peripheral recesses all inclined in the same direction; and rollers in said recesses adapted to lock the related ring to the clutch member when the related bevel gear of the pair is rotating in a direction to cause binding of the rollers in their recesses.

10. In a printing press, a printing couple; inking means therefor including an ink drum driven thereby; a bevel gear on the ink drum; an ink fountain roll; a shaft disposed normal to said ink drum and opposite the bevel gear and having connecting members driving the fountain roll; a pair of bevel gears freely mounted on the said shaft and meshing with the first mentioned bevel gear and rotated thereby in opposite directions; and clutch means mounted on said shaft between and cooperating with said respective bevel gears of the pair and acting in the same direction for causing rotation of the said shaft in a constant direction by whichever bevel ear of the pair is rotating in said direction.

11. In a press as set forth in claim 10, said clutch means comprising clutch rings carried by the bevel gears of the pair, said. rings having tapered recesses all inclined in the same direction; and rollers in said recesses adapted to lock the related ring to the fountain drive shaft when the related bevel gear of the pair is rotating in a direction to cause binding of the rollers in their recesses.

12. In a press as set forth in claim 10, said clutch means comprising a clutch member fixedly mounted on the driven shaft and having annular flanges projecting from opposite sides thereof; clutch rings carried by the bevel gears of the pair and entering the respective annular flanges, said rings having tapered peripheral recesses all inclined in the same direction: and rollers in said recesses adapted to lock the related ring to the clutch member when the related bevel gear of the pair is rotating in a direction to cause binding of the rollers in their recesses.

ALBERT J. CARPENTER, JR. 

